Optimizing BI Technologies. Business intelligence tools have become an essential part of running a successful enterprise in today’s world. While this might not be a hugely controversial statement, things get a bit murkier when considering the finer points. While it’s clear BI is important for business, not all organizations have the same needs.
Here are some ideas for optimizing BI technologies.
Drive a Data-Driven Corporate Culture
Data is a powerful tool. When your organization holds data as one of its most precious resources for decision-making, it’s going to optimize the entire corporate structure. Using data should be about far more than just getting better results. It’s a way to bring an entirely new way of thinking into your enterprise.
When it comes to building a data-driven culture, data democratization also needs to be in the same conversation. These terms come down to making an organization stronger by empowering more employees with the tools to use and interpret data. There are a few reasons why building a data-driven culture is optimal for organizations.
One of the biggest for promoting data democratization is it allows more people to engage with — and find answers through — data analysis. Doing this makes it so insights can come from more places, while also speeding up the decision-making process.
Building a data-driven culture comes with another major benefit beyond rote optimization. Enforcing a data-first policy can foster greater trust in your enterprise over the long term. Regardless if it’s employees looking for the rationale behind actions, or stakeholders looking for clarity, data can help make your reasoning more explicit and trustworthy.
Move BI to the Points of Necessity
There have been some significant changes to enterprise business intelligence over the past few years. In the past, it was essential for all BI and data analytics queries to be processed through a dedicated analytics team. It should be clear why having an inherently bottlenecked system like this isn’t optimal for organizations. Fortunately, new advances in BI technologies have vastly improved this process.
Allowing BI to move from a centralized, one-size-fits-all system to a more ad hoc setup makes it so analytics can happen on an at-need basis. It’s likely there will always be a need for dedicated analytics teams. Having data experts is going to continue being best practice for enterprises, as accuracy — especially in situations requiring more expertise. User-friendly BI tools, however, are making it so employees can run ad hoc analytics when the need arises. In this scenario, organizations can move much faster on smaller-scale decisions, while also raising the validity of choices.
ThoughtSpot is a provider of BI technologies helping enterprises move analytics out of back rooms and into the point of necessity. Their search-driven analytics functions much like a search engine. Individuals without data expertise can enter queries in the same way they would when searching for information online. This intuitive process lets insights come directly from the source, without having to wait around for results.
Furthermore, democratizing data doesn’t mean just letting everyone have access to everything. Part of the optimization process is determining what data should be within each employee’s permissions level. Ensuring people have the information they need, without having too much; will keep your organization running smoothly, while limiting risks of data loss.
Reconsider BI Technologies
The world of BI technologies is in a constant state of flux. Due to this, it’s wise to continually review and reassess the needs and resources of your organization.
Of course, you don’t want to go out and purchase new tools, or totally restructure your BI architecture if there’s no need for it. Cost is also something to be formally addressed before making any decisions. You should be able to quantify project return on investment on new tools before purchasing them.
Considering these points can help organizations better gauge projected ROI from BI technologies:
- How efficiently can new BI technologies help you drill down to more granular levels of analysis?
- How quickly will all users be able to learn and start using the new BI technologies?
- What are the top-level capabilities of the BI technologies?
All of these elements should assist in the process of deciding if a new BI technology is the right choice for your enterprise.
Optimization is an essential part of running a successful business. Fortunately, BI technologies allow organizations to run more efficiently than ever. Consider how adopting new BI practices could lead to better business outcomes.
